Digital Minds

The explanation that digital computers are designed to mimic human computers leads to potentially interesting consequences. Cognitive science has revealed much about human thought in the past 20 years, and while it still has a lot to discover, we understand the basics of how our brains work. A comparison between digital computers and the human brain may seem bizarre, but should at least be considered.

Decisions and emotions (in the brain) are formed by neurochemical interactions, shaped by genetic predisposition and chemical interactions during brain development both in utero and later. Information is stored, and retrieved; conscious thought is both separate from and influenced by the unconscious mechanisms at work, and the whole apparatus can adapt to solve any kind of problem. The unexamined superstitious comparison between the mind and a computer predispose this idea to rejection, but the structure is certainly similar to a digital computer - with a memory store, an executive unit, and a control system. Ultimately, though, the most interesting question isn't, "Is the human mind is the same as a digital computer?"; it's "How close can the digital computer get to being a human mind?"